Shipbuilders’ group warns US failing to tap full naval industry capacity
Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan prepares for a dead-stick underway. (Photo: US Navy)
The Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition has pointed out that issues related to bureaucracy, prerequisites and predictability have been limiting the involvement of smaller shipyards in military acquisition programmes in the US.
The US may not be fully utilising its current shipbuilding capacity, despite the pressing concern to keep pace with Chinese naval advancements. Difficult-to-attain requirements, low levels of predictability and bureaucracy have been cited by the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition (AWIBC) as issues preventing small and medium suppliers from participating in US Navy (USN), Marine Corps (USMC), and Coast Guard (USCG) programmes.
Relying on a few traditional shipyards for decades has resulted in multiple postponements of milestones of acquisition effort in addition to over costs, the coalition said.
Speaking to Shephard, AWIBC chair Paul J. Roden explained that
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